'Emotional rollercoaster': Matty J nails the reality of travelling solo with kids

Nothing spikes your anxiety quite like slide 9...

Any parent who has children under the age of six will tell you how incredibly stressful family travel can be. But what happens when you have to do a long leg on your own? 

No co-parent to handball tantrums to, share eye rolls with, or assist with, well, anything!

Single parents, we SEE you. And so does reality star dad Matthew (Matty J) Johnson after having to travel to Bali with his two young daughters alone to meet wife Laura Byrne on the other end. 

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Image: Instagram

The emotional rollercoaster of being a solo parent travelling

Matty, who is set to be a dad for the third time later this year, hit social media to share in the joy of successfully (just) travelling solo with his 6yo daughter Marlie and 4yo daughter Lola. 

Documenting each moment on Instagram, the dad hilariously rated his way through their journey to share with his followers and it's nothing short of completely relatable for any parent who has been there with their young ones. 

"Join me as I rate the emotional rollercoaster of travelling solo to Bali with two kids, one photo meltdown at a time," he began the post. 

The journey began with a hurdle, which he appropriately rated a 1/10. 

"Flight attempt one - found out our flight was cancelled when we tried to check in - new flight was moved to 6am next morning. Definitely wouldn't recommend," he wrote. 

The same rating went to the actual check-in, which also saw a massive queue at the counters because of a system error.

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Things were not off to a great start for the Aussie dad, but like Hamish Blake's late-night birthday cake making, he powered through for the sake of his kids' happiness. 

Luckily, it didn't take long for things to improve. 

A 9/10 rating followed shortly after, once the iPad helped alleviate any tantrums during the testing check-in process. 

"About to board! There is absolutely nothing better in this world than running down the boarding bridge when you're a kid - core memory material," he wrote. And... agreed!

The stress levels began to rise once again when Matty discovered the seating plan on board - not that he had much choice. 

"Went with a separate seat to the kids. Panicking at my life decisions - who the hell did I think I was trying to attempt this madness?!," he shared. He rated the moment a solid 3/10. 

Image: Instagram

Of course, any parent knows this is not where everyone will stay for a flight longer than two hours! Seats were swiftly swapped when Matty's youngest, Lola, needed daddy's help. 

"Swapped seats with Marlie to help Lola - she was pumped to be spending the whole flight next to her favourite parent," he said. While her face suggests he's being sarcastic, he gave the moment a solid 10 points. 

While they had to wait some time for it, snack time on board was also given full points because it involved chocolate and ice cream. What's not to love about that? 

But other meals weren't such a hit, with dad rating lunch time a 5/10 thanks to a silly error from his end. 

"Forgot to order kids meals so they ended up with spicy beef curry. Not ideal but we knew we had to push through these challenges," he said. 

The journey certainly is a rollercoaster as Matty describes but it's really on slide number 9 where parents will truly relate. When dad needs to go to the loo. 

"Nothing spikes your anxiety quite like needing a bathroom break, which means leaving your kids unsupervised for 2 terrifying minutes," he shared, giving the moment a 2/10. 

I mean, what else could he do? Any traveller knows that there's hardly any room for a plus one in those tiny cubicles, so it's not like he was going to take them with him, right?  

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Image: Instagram

10 points for effort

Relief is seen on dad's face in the final slide when he reaches the destination. 

He did it! And his efforts didn't go unnoticed by his followers. 

"Can relate. Travelled solo with my adhd 4yo. Flight home was delayed for 4.5 hours. Would not recommend night travel for young children. Travelling with kids ages you!" someone commented. 

"You did amazing! Travelling with kids is SCARY‚" another agreed.

Even some celebrity pals chimed in with a huge applause.

"I googled how long the flight from Sydney to Bali is. 6 hrs 30 mins on average. You have done very well. And ows the credit you get for being a single dad doing this stuff! Just wonderful," Dave Hughes shared. 

Fellow reality star Cam Merchant also wrote: "Feel like Enrique Iglesias should serenade you as you’re throwing the kids up in slow mo in the chlorinated magic of the hotel pool.. It’s a small act on his behalf for a pretty special feat."

But someone who wasn't as impressed with dad's efforts was wife Laura, who hilariously reminded her other half that she did an even longer leg, with their girls to visit him in South Africa for the finale of I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! Oh, she was pregnant, too. 

"Three words…. Africa first trimester," she simply wrote. 

Her comment attracted over 2100 likes. Ouch. 

Originally published as 'Emotional rollercoaster': Matty J nails the reality of travelling solo with kids